Losing My Library: The Poetics of Space | 🍂 Footnotes #10

In this edition: Umberto Eco, Yevgeny Zamyatin, Ripley, Bulgakov, Terence Malick and (of course) Seneca.

💭 Word of the week: Mujō (Japanese) - impermanence, transience, or mutability.

Hello friends,

I think of books in a personal library as akin to the molecules in one's body, each contributing to the unique makeup of their owner's identity. There is a film that proves this idea, and I would recommend that every bibliophile watch it. It is called Umberto Eco: A Library of the World, directed by Davide Ferrario.

In this film, Ferrario tours Umberto Eco’s vast library of over 30,000 books ranging from ancient books on magic, symbolism, and alchemy, to the history of false scientific discoveries and tells the story behind this collection. It took Eco a lifetime to assemble this enormous and unique library of books. Ferrario’s film deeply immerses you in the enchanting world of Umberto Eco’s mind, but what touched me most, almost bringing a tear to my eye, was watching how some of the stories behind those books were told by Eco’s children themselves.

They told the story of their father’s library and this is a rare thing to happen in a bibliophile’s life. After their owners’ death, many personal libraries decay as their owners’ bodies. The books that once stood together are often sold or donated to public libraries, charity shops and sometimes thrown away. The reasons for this may vary. Eco himself knew how challenging it could be to own a personal library in our days.¹ Financial means, mortgage-rates, tight real-estate market - all of this works against a person who wants to build a solid library or preserve one assembled by a loved one.

In this sense, Eco was extremely privileged, not only that he could afford space to keep his collection, but also that his kids are curious enough to preserve and talk about their father’s legacy.

I often wonder what will happen to my collection in the future. I thought a lot about this recently. Will there be anyone who will appreciate my library as a whole? And, most importantly, is my collection worth of appreciation?

Those thoughts hovered above me as I spent the last two months packing my library, putting my books into boxes (over 100+ boxes were used) and carrying them in and out of the van to my new place where I will have an entire room as my library. (A subject of a future newsletter),

When all of my books ended up in boxes and movers took away my bookshelves I looked at my reading corner and what I saw there now made me feel as if a cruel surgeon amputated a part of my soul.

Life was once boiling in that little but cosy corner. Not long ago the ancient heroes embarked on their adventures, pilgrims sharpened their spirits, artists got closer to the divine mysteries of life in that busy corner. Not long ago Cicero defended the republic, Alexander conquered Asia, Dante descended to Hell and Godel proved existence of after-life there. A drama of a cosmic scale was unfolding in that tiny corner every second but now, that same place, without books, was just a cold soulless place where time stood still.

There are evident truths that we discover when we stop to pay attention. When I paused to take the last photo (the 3rd from the left) I realised how much life books breath into a room. It is true that a room without books is like a body without a soul.

It was a strange feeling to see my soul packed into several boxes.

Cicero once wrote: ‘if you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.’ My next place is going to have both of these things. I am very excited! Never before have I had a room fully dedicated to my book collection.

And since it is unlikely that somebody will film a documentary about my collection in the same way Davide Ferrario did for Eco, I will share my collection with you here and on my YouTube channel soon.

As always my friend - Confide tibimet.

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Proofread and edited by Lisa Statler

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🍂 Footnotes

• Absolutely loving this YouTube channel (The Beauty Of…)

• Can’t stop thinking of Terence Malick’s film A Hidden Life ever since I watched it

• Have I mentioned that I am absolutely obsessed by Ripley series?

• Since this edition is all about film - I would love to recommend to all my Russian speaking subscribers to watch the recent (2023) film-adaptation of Bulgakov’s Master & Margarita

• Yevgeny Zamyatin’s Letter to Stalin is worth your attention

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I am currently…

📖 Currently reading: Nietzsche’s The Genealogy of Morals

🎧 Current audiobook: Vergil: The Poet’s Life by Sarah Rudden

📚 Book(s) Bought this Week: Andrea Marcolongo’s The Art of Running

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🖋️ Quote of the week

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Do you want to keep a journal?

I’ve been journaling for the past 15 years of my life. By saying this I mean that for the past decade and a half, I’ve been sitting down, consistently, every day, and writing my thoughts and ideas into my notebook.

If you would like to begin your journaling journey, but don’t know where to start, how to stay consistent, or which type of journaling suits you, consider subscribing to my Patreon page.

I’ve made several ‘Guided journaling’ videos, where we sit down and journal together, I give journaling tips based on science, and I share some very personal pieces of advice based on my own journey.

1. The actual quotes goes like this: ‘The library should contain as much of what you don’t know as your financial means, mortgage rates and the currently tight real-estate market allows you to put there.’